Author Archives: Israel Galindo

About Israel Galindo

Israel Galindo is Coordinator of the Leadership in Ministry program at the Center for Lifelong Learning, Columbia Theological Seminary. Formerly he was Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary and Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond.

The three main interventions

Neils Bohr said, “An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.” I’ve come to the notion that being an expert merely comes down to three things: knowledge, experience, … Continue reading

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Galli’s “The Cost of Christian Education”

Last week I received an e-mail from a theology student at a seminary in Brazil. He’s taking a class in apologetics and wanted me to share my thoughts on, “How can I prove God historically?” I found the question vague … Continue reading

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Levels of adult C.E. programming

Someone asked me for a list of congregations who had “strong adult education ministries.” I knew what he was asking, but the more I thought about it, the less able I was to compile a list. I got stuck on … Continue reading

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Knowing when to fold ’em

Congregational staff who occupy the “second chair” often find themselves in a precarious position related to the prospects of their tenure. Sometimes circumstances dictate this, but also, the relationship with the senior pastor can be a big determinative factor. One … Continue reading

Posted in leadership, personal growth, second chair | 3 Comments

Shameless self-promotion

An article by Israel Galindo titled “Perspectives on Educational Planning” appears in this month’s issue of Baptists Today (Vol. 25, No. 6, June 2007). You can download the article at their “The Resource Page” section. Be sure to check out … Continue reading

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Developmental Christian education formation programming

Developmental Christian education formation program planning is an approach that seeks to shape the educational programs in a congregation around the faith development needs of the members. While it appears to use an “age-graded” structure to programs, planning also incorporates … Continue reading

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Communion rant

I attended worship recently at an out-of-town congregation during a consultation trip. As it happened it was a communion Sunday. I’m always interested in observing how congregations perform the two Ordinances–Communion (Lord’s Supper) and baptism. Especially in congregations of the … Continue reading

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Was it a dove and does it matter?

A church member sent me this question: “I have a question that has come up in our Sunday school classes and wanted a professional educator’s opinion. This past week we were studying the passage where John the Baptist baptizes Jesus … Continue reading

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Almost my generation

The “new middle age” currently is said to begin at 65. That’s good news for those of us watching the dusk approaching. It’s all in the attitude, I say. A reminder to the young ‘uns, WE invented rock and roll.

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Things you should never tell your children

Most of us who are parents believe that part of our job, as parents, is to rear “well-behaved” children. And indeed, well-behaved children tend to be admired by other adults and tend to do better in school. I think there’s … Continue reading

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